Dental Hygienist Wandsworth

Keep your smile protected from gum disease

Dental hygiene appointments will help to prevent gum disease and tooth decay while keeping your breath fresh and smile beautiful. Although your at-home oral hygiene routine does a lot of the work removing plaque from your teeth, a professional clean will aid in removing any build up and protect from bacteria.

Why are hygiene appointments important?

Your overall oral health depends on your gums, and we excel in providing optimal care for the health of your gums. By proactively removing any existing bacterial irritation and preventing gum disease.

Gum disease, if left untreated, can lead to the gums receding and may contribute to tooth loss. Also, since gum disease is linked to health conditions like diabetes and heart disease, ensuring your gums are healthy will also help your general health.

Given that the symptoms of gum disease are often subtle and easily overlooked, our comprehensive check during appointments allows us to detect and address gum disease at an early stage, enabling us to intervene before it progresses.

What is gum disease?

If the plaque build-up around the gums isn’t removed, it triggers inflammation in the gum tissues. The early stages of gum disease, known as gingivitis, is characterised by swollen, red gums. These irritated gums are prone to bleed when brushing, making them vulnerable to oral bacteria.

If gingivitis is not treated and tartar deposits are left at the gum line, the gums will start to recede. This leads to pockets developing between the gums and the tooth, exposing the sensitive tooth root. Once plaque and tartar accumulate on the root surface it becomes much more challenging to remove. This stage of gum disease is called periodontitis and unlike gingivitis its irreversible. However, it can be effectively managed by a dentist or periodontist through more comprehensive treatment.

What happens during a hygienist appointment?

At the beginning of your appointment, we will ask you a little about your home oral care routine and if your have any areas of concern. We will carry out a gum disease check, this way if we can spot it early enough, we can treat it before it worsens.

The main part of your hygiene appointment involves a routine scale and polish. This deep cleaning targets any stubborn tartar in hard-to-reach areas of the mouth, followed by a professional polish that imparts a smoother, cleaner, and brighter feel to your teeth.

We can also offer a comprehensive stain removal with powerjet, which helps gently polish the surface of the tooth and remove debris. This will clean your teeth thoroughly, removing any superficial stains and give you an instantly whiter smile!

To finish, we provide some guidance on proper oral care for your teeth and gums, and we can also demonstrate how to use interdental tools correctly. Helping you to up-keep your new smile at home!

Airflow

We also offer Airflow polishing treatment at the practice, which gives a deep, powerful clean beyond which can be achieved with a standard scale and polish. It is designed to effectively remove tartar build up and stains from teeth to create a polished smile. In some cases, it can be used in place of whitening treatment to brighten heavily stained teeth.

How does Airflow polishing work?

Airflow treatment uses a high-powered spray to project water, bicarbonate and compressed air onto the teeth and clean away areas of plaque and gently remove yellow, brown or grey stains. The spray technology ensures hard to reach areas can be accessed and treated effectively in a fast and non-invasive way.

The procedure is completely pain-free and much gentler than a traditional scale and polish treatment, which can cause sensitivity in some patients. It is quick and straightforward and leaves you with brilliantly brighter and healthy-looking teeth in just one visit to the practice.

What are the benefits of Airflow polishing?

  • Gentle yet very effective treatment for deep stains
  • Pain-free and suitable for patients with sensitive teeth
  • Minimally invasive
  • Easier and more comfortable than a scale and polish treatment
  • Removes plaque build up to help prevent gum disease
  • Leaves you with a brighter and healthier smile
  • Can be used as a quick solution for special occasions such as weddings
  • Suitable for most patients

FAQs


A clean and healthy mouth will help to keep your breath fresh and give you a beautiful smile. Research has shown that regular deep cleaning significantly reduces the risk of filling replacement, new cavities, gum recession, teeth drifting and food trappings. Gum disease is linked to heart disease and other health conditions so keeping a healthy smile can help to keep you healthy too!


In most cases, the anticipation of going to the dentist is far worse than the appointment itself. We aim to combat this by creating a calming a relaxed environment. There can be an element of slight discomfort and occasional tooth sensitivity can be experience during the appointment. You will be fully informed of what to expect at the beginning of your appointment and we will stop to give you a break if you inform us of any pain during your treatment.


How often you see a hygienist is very dependant on your individual case and the condition of your teeth. Many patients will book their hygiene appointments alongside their routine dentist check-up every six months. However, you maybe advised to come back more or less often if your teeth require.


Yes, although your teeth may feel so clean you might not want to! We do advise if you have had the powerjet stain removal you should avoid any staining products (like coffee, cigarettes, and red wine) for at least 2 hours.